I Ching 101 - Lesson 1

Joseph Yu

I CHING 101FREE COURSE

I Ching 101 - Lesson 1

MAN AND THE UNIVERSE

The foundation of Chinese Philosophy is that Man is part of the Universe he lives

in. The Universe is forever changing, so are we.

The changes in the Universe affect our existence and well being.

What we do also affect the Universe.

For example, due to abuse of science we have created a hole in the ozone layer in

the south pole and one in the north pole. This in turn allows excessive ultra-violet

light to reach the earth's surface causing skin cancer to its inhabitants.

Chinese people have been taught for thousands of years to live in harmony with

Nature and not to disturb the equilibrium. This is the fundamental Principle of Feng

Shui.

Being a part of the Universe we can establish some kind of links between our inner

selves and the natural forces surrounding us. Our subconscious mind can generate

energy involuntarily to affect happenings close to us.

If you know the codes, these happenings can be decoded into interpretations of

the immediate past, the present and the near future. If you know the codes you

own the key to a better future. You will know exactly what to do to achieve the

utmost reward in life. You will know what you must avoid to distance yourself from

danger and failure.

Do you want to possess this key?


I CHING, THE BOOK OF CHANGES

I Ching, or more correctly Yi Jing, is perhaps the oldest book on earth. It was

written in obsolete ancient Chinese language which is unintelligible to most of us

today.

It talks about the sixty four arrangements of six broken or unbroken lines (each

being called a yao).

Each of these arrangements is called a hexagram or gua.

Each gua corresponds to a story or a phenomenon.

Each yao also corresponds to certain happening or picture.

Even in ancient days different scholars had different interpretations of the

hexagrams.

It started with the first sage, Fu Xi (doubtfully about 3300 B.C.) who developed

the Ba Gua.

To some scholars Fu Xi was not the name of a person but the name of an entire

tribe. This tribe knew how to raise animals for meat and milk. Fu Xi literally means

"taming animals".

This tribe also knew how to use the eight arrangements of three broken or

unbroken lines to record important events.

Other tribes were known to be discoverers of the use of fire, agriculture, and

making homes on trees.

This is a more reasonable view.

In the time of Fu Hsi writing was not yet invented.

The first written explanation of the hexagrams was recorded by Wen Wang (King

Wen), the founder of the Zhou Dynasty at about 1143 B.C.

Wen Wang's son, the Duke of Zhou, also contributed to the text of I Ching.

Then another sage Confucius (550-478 B.C.) spent his final years interpreting the

I Ching.

These writings are all difficult to understand. The I Ching has been puzzling the

Chinese for thousands of years. Some scholars even refuse to recognize it as a

book of oracles.

It is not surprising we have many versions of the English translation of the I Ching.

Yet none of the existing versions is easy to understand.

I shall not endeavor to translate the I Ching in my own version. Instead, I will

extract the essence of the text and transcribe it into simple English with reference

to modern living.


YING AND YANG

The concept of Yin and Yang is the foundation of Chinese philosophy. Yin and yang

are viewed as opposite and opposing reality in the Universe. These are not

scientific terms and classification of existence in terms of yin and yang is

sometimes easy but sometimes difficult. Yin and yang are relative. There is nothing

absolute.

When we compare the Sun and the Moon, the sun is bright and hot compared with

the moon. Therefore the sun is considered yang while the moon yin.

When we compare a male and a female, the male is yang while the female yin but

when we compare a dead man to a living woman, the living is yang while the dead

is yin.

When we compare an animal to a plant, the animal is yang and the plant is yin.

This is because an animal is mobile and a plant is relatively stationary.

When we compare a plant with a rock, the plant is yang while the rock is yin. This

is because a plant is living while a rock has no life.

Some people say that yang is positive while yin is negative. They say that yin-

yang is the mathematical binary concept. This is partly true. Positive and negative

form one aspect of yang and yin. There are other not-so-measurable yin-yang

duality.

In the famous diagram of the Yin-Yang, there are two dots. The white dot is in the

yin part while the black dot in the yang part. This means that there is yin within

yang and yang within yin. It also indicates that yin is the offspring of yang while

yang is the offspring of yin.

The reason why we do not divide a circle into two halves by a diameter to form

the yin-yang symbol is that yin and yang are not stationary. They are forever in

motion. Yin and Yang are in dynamic equilibrium.

For simplicity we use a broken line to denote yin while an unbroken line to denote

yang.


THE TRIGRAMS

When three broken/unbroken lines are arranged one on top of another, eight

different diagrams are formed. Each is called a trigram. Each of the lines forming

the trigram is called a yao. The yaos are counted from bottom to top.

Each trigram is also called a gua. The eight trigrams together form a Ba Gua (the

Eight Trigrams). They were arranged in the following way called the Xian Tian Ba

Gua according to Fu Xi.


HEAVEN

Heaven symbolizes strength and perfection.

Wu Xing : Metal

Natural phenomena : Sky, circle, ice, jade, gold, coldness.

Geographical implication : North-west, metropolis, capital, highland.

People : Emperor, president, chairman, father, elder, government

official.

Characteristics : Bravery, courage, determination, mobility, authority, dignity,

honor, strictness, diligence, pride, aggressiveness.

Body parts : Head, bones, lungs.

Time : Autumn.

Animals : Horse, lion, elephant.

Objects : Gold and jade, precious stones, hat, round and hard objects,

mirrors.

Buildings : Buildings in the north-west, high-rise buildings, government

offices, conference room, train station, airport.

Roads : Major roads leading to the north-west, a high-traffic road.

Color : White, golden, silvery.


MARSH

Marsh symbolizes joy and satisfaction.

Wu Xing : Metal

Natural phenomena : Marsh, rain, dew, snow, new moon, stars

Geographical implication : West, wet land, water front

People : Youngest daughter, teenage girl, young actress, concubine,

waitress, maid

Characteristics : Joy, sentiment, loving, sex, argument, slander, flattery

Body parts : Mouth, tongue

Time : Autumn

Animals : Goat, sheep

Objects : Sword, stringed musical instrument, container with a mouth

Buildings : Buildings in the west, pier, shabby house

Roads : Road to the west

Color : White


FIRE

Fire symbolizes beauty and radiance.

Wu Xing : Fire

Natural phenomena : Fire, the sun, lighning, electricity, neon light, fine weather

Geographical implication : South, hot and dry places, factory, mining site

People : Middle daughter, middle age female, pregnant woman, people

with poor eye-sight

Characteristics : Literacy, art, wisdom, impatience

Body parts : Eyes, heart

Time : Summer

Animals : Chicken, cow, crab, clam, turtle

Objects : Fire, books, armor, red items

Buildings : Building facing south, bright building, vacant room

Roads : Road to the south, a hot and arid road.

Color : Red, purple


THUNDER

Thunder symbolizes startling movement.

Wu Xing : Wood

Natural phenomena : Thunder, clouds

Geographical implication : East, wooded land, busy street

People : Elder son, middle age male, athlete, hot-tempered people

Characteristics : Anger, shock, diligence, mobility, capability

Body parts : Feet, liver

Time : Spring

Animals : Dragon, snake

Objects : Flut, fire wood

Buildings : Building facing east, building in the woods

Roads : Road to the east, a busy highway

Color : Green


WIND

Wind symbolizes tidiness and penetration

Wu Xing : Wood

Natural phenomena : Wind

Geographical implication : South-east, orchard, luxuriant land

People : Elder daughter, middle age female, educated people

Characteristics : Nurturing, undecided, flattering, desiring, skeptical

Body parts : Bottom, thighs, breath

Time : Late spring to early summer

Animals : Chicken, birds

Objects : Wood, rope, bamboo

Buildings : Building facing south-east, convent, building in the woods

Roads : Road to the south-east

Color : Dark green


WATER

Water symbolizes danger and trap

Wu Xing : Water

Natural phenomena : Rain, flowing water, flood

Geographical implication : North, rivers and lakes, stream, well

People : Middle son, vagabond, adventurer

Characteristics : Risky, dangerous, weak externally but resolute internally,

courageous, fashionable

Body parts : Ears, blood, kidneys, bladder

Time : Winter

Animals : Pig, fish, fox

Objects : Water, wine

Buildings : Building facing north, building near water, hotel

Roads : Road to the north

Color : Black


MOUNTAIN

Mountain symbolizes stoppage and stationary

Wu Xing : Earth

Natural phenomena : Mountain, small rock, gateway

Geographical implication : North-east, mountains, a city near a mountain

People : Youngest son, children, hermit in the mountain

Characteristics : Conservative, quiet, realistic, cautious

Body parts : Hand, fingers

Time : Late winter and early spring

Animals : Dog, rat, birds with powerful bills

Objects : Soil and stone, trees with many joints

Buildings : Building facing north-east, building near hills

Roads : Road to the north-east, cul-de-sac

Color : Tan, light brown


EARTH

Earth symbolizes firmness , flexibility and endurance.

Wu Xing : Earth

Natural phenomena : Black soil, mist

Geographical implication : South-west, village, field

People : Mother, queen, farmer

Characteristics : Parsimony, multiple character, modesty, stubbornness

Body parts : Abdomen, stomach

Time : Between two seasons

Animals : Mare, cow

Objects : Square objects, cloth, wagon, earthen ware

Buildings : Building facing south-west, warehouse

Roads : Road to the south-west, level road

Color : Black, bronzed


THE SIXTY-FOUR HEXAGRAMS

When one trigram is place on top of another, a hexagram is formed. Since there

are eight different trigrams, the total number of hexagrams that can be formed is

8 x 8 = 64.

A yang yao in a hexagram is called a "nine" while a yin yao is called a "six".

For example, In the following hexagram formed by placing the trigram Water on

top of the trigram Wind, we count the yaos from bottom to top. The trigram Water

is called the Upper Gua while the trigram Wind is called the Lower Gua.

There are different ways of arranging the order of the 64 hexagrams. In the original

I Ching they are divided into an Upper Text and a Lower Text. The names of the

hexagrams are indicative in Chinese. If we translate the names into English by the

pronunciation of the words the meaning is already lost. Therefore, we shall omit

the names of the hexagram altogether.

Upper Text

1) Heaven on Heaven (2) Earth on Earth

(3) Water on Thunder (4) Mountain on Water

(5) Water on Heaven (6) Heaven on Water

(7) Water on Earth (8) Earth on Water

(9) Wind on Heaven (10) Heaven on Marsh

(11) Earth on Heaven (12) Heaven on Earth

(13) Heaven on Fire (14) Fire on Heaven

(15) Earth on Mountain (16) Thunder on Earth

(17) Marsh on Thunder (18) Mountain on Wind

(19) Earth on Marsh (20) Wind on Earth

(21) Fire on Thunder (22) Mountain on Fire

(23) Mountain on Earth (24) Earth on Thunder

(25) Heaven on Thunder (26) Mountain on Heaven

(27) Mountain on Thunder (28) Marsh on Wind

(29) Water on Water (30) Fire on Fire

Lower Text

(31) Marsh on Mountain (32) Thunder on Wind

(33) Heaven on Mountain (34) Thunder on Heaven

(35) Fire on Earth (36) Earth on Fire

(37) Wind on Fire (38) Fire on Marsh

(39) Water on Mountain (40) Thunder on Water

(41) Mountain on Marsh (42) Wind on Thunder

(43) Marsh on Heaven (44) Heaven on Wind

(45) Marsh on Earth (46) Earth on Wind

(47) Marsh on Water (48) Water on Wind

(49) Marsh on Fire (50) Fire on Wind

(51) Thunder on Thunder (52) Mountain on Mountain

(53) Wind on Mountain (54) Thunder on Marsh

(55) Thunder on Fire (56) Fire on Mountain

(57) Wind on Wind (58) Marsh on Marsh

(59) Wind on Water (60) Water on Marsh

(61) Wind on Marsh (62) Thunder on Mountain

(63) Water on Fire (64) Fire on Water


REARRANGING THE HEXAGRAMS FOR EASY REFERENCE

We shall first of all assign numbers for the eight trigrams according to Xian Tian

Ba Gua.

We shall use an ordered pair of numbers to represent a hexagram. For example,

the hexagram "Heaven on Heaven" is assigned the pair (1,1) and the hexagram

"Water on Earth" is assigned the pair (6,8). The first number is the Upper Gua and

the second number is the Lower Gua.

The sixty four hexagrams will be easily located in the following "map".


TOSSING COIN EXPERIMENT

Take any three coins and assign one face as "head" and the other face as "tail".

When the three coins are tossed on a table, there are four results if the order is

not considered.

1. Three Heads

2. Two Heads and one Tail

3. One Head and two Tails

4. Three Tails.

When there are an odd number of Heads the outcome is a "Yang" outcome (cases

1 & 3).

When there are an odd number of Tails the outcome is a "Yin" outcome (cases 2

& 4).

A yang outcome is denoted by a full line called a yang yao.

A yin outcome is denoted by a broken line called a yin yao.

When all the three coins are Heads or Tails, the yao is called a changing yao and

is denoted by attaching a x to the line.

Procedures to get a hexagram:

1. Write down your question you want to ask.

2. Concentrate on the question for about 3 minutes with the intention of

obtaining an answer to help you solve the problem.

3. Toss the three coins.

4. Record the result as one of the four : HHH, HHT, HTT, TTT.

5. Repeat the tossing for a total of six times. You may get something like this,

as an example,

1. HHT

2. HTT

3. HTT

4. HHH

5. HHT

6. HHT

6. Draw the yao representing the first result, i.e. HHT.

7. Draw the yao representing the second result, i.e. HTT on top of the first one.

8. Draw the yao representing the third result, i.e. HTT on top of the second

one.

9. Draw the yao representing the fourth result, i.e. HHH on top of the third

one.

10.Draw the yao representing the fifth result, i.e. HHT on top of the fourth one.

11.Draw the upper most yao representing the sixth result, i.e. HHT.

12.Now the hexagram is complete.

13.Draw another hexagram with the changing yao changing from yang to yin

and obtain :

14.The first hexagram is called the current gua while the second hexagram

called the projected gua.

The current gua reveals the present situation while the projected gua is the

intended outcome in the near future. Notice the hexagram is constructed from

bottom to top. It is like building a house, starting at the bottom.

The current gua in this example is Thunder on Wind while the projected gua is

Earth on Wind.

Before going into the interpretation, you should familiarize yourself with

performing the experiment, drawing the hexagrams and naming the hexagrams.


THE SCHOLARLY METHOD

The scholarly method is to study the original text of the I Ching to get the answer to the

question. This is the method used by the knowledgeable elite class. The I Ching was written

in very ancient language and the original text is quite incomprehensible. Everyone has his

own version of interpretation and people cannot agree on almost everything. I will not

endeavor to give a word for word or even phrase for phrase translation of the text. Instead

I will rewrite it in simple English so that the reader can get the picture. It is the picture

that is most important.

The idea of asking the I Ching oracle is to get a hexagram that may or may not carry a

moving (or changing) yao (line). If there are changing lines then we also get a new

hexagram after the change. Thus we can see the present picture from the original

hexagram and also the picture of the new hexagram. The original hexagram will be called

the current gua while the new hexagram called the projected gua. The text of the changing

yao is the key to the change.

The interpretation depends on the inspiration and knowledge of the interpreter. He who

knows the I Ching better, he who has more life experience, and he who has a more

imaginative mind will do the better job.

For those who cannot understand the I Ching, I have written standard interpretations for

each hexagram with reference to common aspect of life. It will deal with six aspects,

namely,

1. Luck

2. Romance

3. Family

4. Business

5. Sickness

6. Lawsuit

You can say that this is the simplest version of the scholarly method.


THE FORTUNE TELLER’S METHOD

Fortune tellers in the old days were less educated people. It was impossible for them to

understand the I Ching. Instead of referring to the original text of the I Ching a method

using the five elements was invented and widely used by fortune tellers especially the blind

men who made a living using three coins and the turtle shell. This method is used today

by professional fortune tellers.

The procedure of obtaining the hexagrams is the same as in the scholarly method except

that it is customary to use a turtle shell and put the coins inside before casting for a result.

Instead of considering the picture suggested by the text of the I Ching, each yao of the

hexagram is assigned one of the five elements. The method to assign the elements will not

be dealt with here. Each yao is also assigned an aspect summarized as (1) Power (2)

Parents (3) Children (4) Brothers (5) Wealth. One of the yaos is assigned to represent the

person who asks the question and another one to represent his contender in the event.

How these are assigned will also not be dealt with here. The former is called the "self yao"

while the latter the "contender yao".

The relationship of the elements representing the self yao and contender yao is discussed.

For example if the contender yao is earth and the self yao is metal, then it will be

advantageous to the person. If the contender yao is wood instead then it will be to the

person's disadvantage. How the other yaos are related to these two are also discussed and

the whole situation will bring out a picture. If there are changing yaos then how each is

changed will also be discussed and the result will give a clearer picture. The time when the

oracle is consulted also plays an important role since the year, month, day and time are

also assigned heavenly stems and earthly branches and each has a corresponding element.

How these elements react with those in the hexagram will also give a clue to what the

outcome should be.

The fortune teller's method is very complicated. We will not pursue any further in this

course.

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I Ching 101 - Lesson 1

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